Richmond to Add to Demons’ Hell

What would have been seen as a fairly innocuous game pre-season has now become season defining for both clubs.

Melbourne have had an abysmal first two weeks, 41 and 108-point losses to Brisbane and West Coast respectively has seen the Demons fall from finals contenders to cellar dwellers.

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The Dees have made another slew of changes this week in an attempt to construct a competitive team, the most notable of which is former captain Brad Green, whose omission shows the dire situation of Melbourne.

Richmond will have also been disappointed with their start after having high hopes pre-season. However, their losses have been respectable and they have been competitive for periods in both matches.

This game has now become crucial to both teams as Melbourne are in desperate need of a win or at least a resemblance of a competitive performance while Richmond can’t afford to drop a game that they are now clear favorites in.

Key Match-Ups

James Magner vs Daniel Jackson

Magner has been the one shining light for the Demons in the last few weeks, the mature-age rookie has made an impressive transition into the AFL.

Magner has been Melbourne’s best player over the last two weeks gathering 32 and 23 disposals, if the Dees want any chance of winning he will have to fire.

Jackson has come under fire early in the season and is often a whipping boy for the fans, but he may have the opportunity this week to play on Magner and perform a shutdown role. If he succeeds then he will guarantee a most likely midfield dominance for Richmond.

Jack Riewoldt vs James Frawley

Riewoldt was far from his best last week, only kicking 3 behinds as he was well held by Ben Reid and was also less than impressive the week before but still managed to kick four goals.

If Riewoldt can kick four goals on an off-week against a strong opponent, he should kick a bag against Melbourne..

Part of Riewoldt’s problem has been playing too far away from goals. Frawley will be hoping this trend continues and as a result he will be easier to contain.

Frawley, like the rest of his Melbourne counterparts, has been out of form and a down-on-form Riewoldt may be a good place to turn it around

Mitch Clark vs Alex Rance

After drawing criticism for his round one performance, Clark turned it around last week kicking 5 goals from very limited opportunities.